


Soothe the Waves

by CompulsiveBowlers



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jacques is domestic AF, au where no one dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 00:53:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CompulsiveBowlers/pseuds/CompulsiveBowlers
Summary: Olivia has a broken leg, and Jacques plans to wait on her for the next 6 weeks.





	Soothe the Waves

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I’m laid up for 6 weeks with a broken ankle. This is my first time writing in about 3 years, so go easy on me.

It had only been two days since Olivia had fallen off the ladder in the library of the home she shared with Jacques and the Baudelaire children and broken her right leg, but it had felt like an eternity. It wasn’t that Jacques was smothering her per say, but she definitely longed for her independence. 

She had just barely opened her eyes, and Jacques was already wide awake and adjusting the pillows under her cast. 

“Jacques, it’s not even six yet, go back to sleep,” she muttered when she noticed her husband’s motion.

“Shh love, I’m just making sure you’re comfortable. Go back to sleep. I’ll get the kids to school and I took the day off again so I can take care of you,” he whispered back as he fluffed the pillow behind her head.

Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but Jacques was already slipping out the door of their bedroom to wake the children. She groaned as she laid back down, noticing how much her leg still hurt. She turned her head to her nightstand to grab her glasses and the book she was currently reading, and noticed that Jacques had left a bottle of water and some ibuprofen for her. The pills were on top of a post-it note:  
“Good morning my love. I hope you’re not in too much pain. Ring if you need me. J.”

She rolled her eyes at her doting husband and swallowed the pills. It was then that she noticed the brass bell that was next to her water bottle. Did he really think she needed him to wait on her hand and foot for the next six weeks while her leg healed? She didn’t have time to wonder before Jacques crept into the room, holding a sleepy Sunny on his hip with one hand and a thermos she was sure contained tea in the other. She slipped on her glasses as Sunny crawled into bed next to her and offered Olivia a sleepy hug. 

“Tea for my lovely wife,” Jacques said as he handed the thermos to Olivia. She took a small sip and thanked him. “Kit is on her way over to drive Violet and Klaus to school, and she and Jacquelyn are going to watch Sunny today so you can rest.”

Olivia was indignant at the thought that her husband didn’t think she was capable of taking care of her children. She stood up and reached for the crutches next to her bed.

“Olivia, honey, you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Olivia was attempting to walk to the door of the bedroom and went crashing to the floor.

“...aren’t very stable on those,” Jacques finished, rushing over to make sure she hadn’t hurt herself. Olivia was sitting on the floor, a huge pout on her face. Jacques scooped her up, bridal style and laid her back on the bed next to Sunny. 

“I’m fully capable of caring for my own children. I don’t need Kit, I don’t need Jacquelyn, and I don’t need you staying home to babysit me!” She rolled onto her side with her arms crossed.

“Gak,” Sunny muttered, looking to Jacques for assistance in calming Olivia.

“Sunny is right. It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it, it’s just that I want your leg to heal, and the best way to do that is to rest. And besides, you need me to get anywhere since you’re hopeless on those crutches.”

Olivia felt herself giggle a little and dried the tears that had begun to fall. Sunny snuggled close to her as Jacques leaned in and gave them both a peck on the top of the head. Jacques was just about to crawl back in the bed with her, when the doorbell chimed.

“That must be Kit. I better go let her in and make sure the children are ready,” Jacques said as he started towards the door, Sunny following behind him.

“Take me with you?” Olivia muttered, not wanting to be left alone. “I’d like to get out of our room today.”

Jacques scooped her up and carried her downstairs, where Violet and Klaus were waiting in the foyer with Kit, who was trying not to laugh at her brother carrying his wife down the staircase. Sunny was suddenly at Kit’s side, waiting to be scooped up by her favorite aunt. Kit obliged and gave the child a kiss on the cheek. 

“Good morning Violet. Good morning Klaus. Are you children ready for school?” Olivia asked as Jacques placed her on the stairs where she made herself comfortable. Violet and Klaus each gave her a hug before grabbing their book bags and climbing into Kit’s car. Olivia thanked Kit and gave Sunny a kiss on the head before Kit followed the children out the door. 

“Now my love, where shall I take you to rest while I make you breakfast? The living room? Family room? The library?” He felt her body go tense when he mentioned the library. She hadn’t been in there since her accident, and he could tell that she was nervous about seeing the ladder again.

“Family room,” she muttered, clearly still shaken. 

________________________________________________________________

That afternoon, Olivia was in the recliner in the family room, her leg propped up on pillows that Jacques had brought from their bedroom, reading her book when Jacques came over for what felt like the millionth time. 

“Can I get you anything? A drink? A snack? More pillows?”

Olivia laughed. “You just asked me five minutes ago. I’m still fine. How about you? I haven’t seen you eat anything today. You must be starving!” 

“I had some tea this morning, and I ate the crust that I cut off of Sunny’s toast.”

Olivia couldn’t help but laugh. For a child who loved to bite things, Sunny hated crust on her toast. She eventually convinced Jacques that he needed to eat something, but only after agreeing that she would eat something too. 

After they both ate a sandwich, they curled up on the couch together to watch a movie. A few minutes in, they were both fast asleep.

Before long, Violet came into the room and gently woke Jacques to ask about dinner. Jacques startled awake, unaware that Kit had brought the children home. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly 6:30. The children must be starving! Olivia was slowly waking up as well, and was surprised to see Violet talking with Jacques.

“When did you get home?” Olivia asked Violet. 

“Kit brought us back about an hour and a half ago. Apparently she and Jacquelyn are meeting Larry for dinner tonight.”

Jacques scooped Olivia up and carried her into the kitchen, where to his surprise, Klaus and Sunny were putting the finishing touches on dinner. Klaus was serving up plates of homemade macaroni and cheese, while Sunny was using her teeth to grate fresh Parmesan over the bowl of salad she had made.

“Surprise!” yelled Violet as she grabbed the plates from Klaus and started to carry them to the table. “We thought it would be nice if we made dinner while you guys caught up on sleep.”

Olivia felt herself tearing up. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have such amazing children. Jacques placed her in her seat at the table, and Violet and Klaus brought the food over. Olivia and Jacques hugged all three children and thanked them for all of their hard work. 

_______________________________________________________________

After everyone had eaten far too much, and the conversation had begun to lull, Klaus spoke up.

“Are we still going to work on the puzzle tonight? It is Friday night,” he asked hesitantly, glancing towards Olivia. It had become a sort-of tradition that after dinner on Friday nights, the entire family would gather around the large table in the library and work on a 1000 piece puzzle. They were currently working on a jungle scene, and Klaus was pretty sure they would finish it tonight. 

“I don’t know if tonight…” Jacques began before Olivia interrupted.

“Well it is Friday night,” she said, “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t. Do you think we can finish it tonight?” She shot a reassuring smile to Jacques, who was eyeing her cautiously to gauge her reaction to the idea of spending the night in the library.

After the dishes had been washed, Jacques scooped up Olivia and the family made their way towards the library. He could feel Olivia tense up again, but she gave him a nervous nod as they walked in, his grasp on her tightening as her eyes shot to the ladder she had fallen from. He placed her in a chair by the table and sat next to her, keeping her hand in his the entire time. 

After a few hours, everyone was laughing and sharing stories about their day. Sunny was asleep on Jacques, and Violet’s eyes were beginning to droop. Klaus had the last piece in his hand, and Olivia was waiting for him to snap it into place, when he suddenly put it down and slid it over to her.

“I think you should finish it this time,” he said, and Olivia popped the piece into the puzzle. 

They all sat back and admired their work. Jacques told the children to head upstairs and get ready for bed. He passed Sunny off to Violet as he promised that he would be up in a few minutes to say goodnight. He picked up Olivia and carried her into their bed. He pulled her glasses off of her face and placed them down on the nightstand next to the ibuprofen he had left out for her again. As he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, she thought to herself that maybe six weeks of Jacques doting on her wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
